IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 17-0848
Filed August 2, 2017
IN THE INTEREST OF A.M., L.M., M.M. and S.M.,
Minor Children,
M.K., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Montgomery County, Amy
Zacharias, District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her four
children. AFFIRMED.
C. Kenneth Whitacre of C. Kenneth Whitacre Law Office, Glenwood, for
appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Ana Dixit, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee State.
Justin R. Wyatt of Woods & Wyatt, P.L.L.C., Glenwood, guardian ad litem
for minor children.
Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.
2
VAITHESWARAN, Presiding Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her four
children, born in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012. She contends the State did not
prove one of the grounds for termination cited by the district court.
The court terminated the mother’s parental rights pursuant to Iowa Code
section 232.116(1)(e) (2017) (requiring proof of several elements, including proof
that the parent failed to maintain significant and meaningful contact with the
children) and (f) (requiring proof of several elements, including proof the children
could not be returned to the parent’s custody). The mother does not challenge
the evidence supporting termination under the second ground. Accordingly, we
may affirm the termination decision under that provision. See In re S.R., 600
N.W.2d 63, 64 (Iowa Ct. App. 1999) (“When the juvenile court terminates
parental rights on more than one statutory ground, we need only find grounds to
terminate under one of the sections cited by the juvenile court to affirm.”). We
elect to do so here, for the following reasons.
The children were removed from the mother’s care in 2015 based on her
use of methamphetamine while caring for them. They were placed with their
paternal grandparents. The mother completed drug treatment programs, and the
children were returned to her care for a few months. However, the mother
resumed her methamphetamine use and the children were once again placed
with their grandparents.
At the termination hearing, the mother testified, “It’s all I know in this town
is to use methamphetamine.” She stated she used the drug a week before the
termination hearing, said she would need a year of sobriety before she could
3
convincingly seek to have the children returned to her care, and admitted there
was no way she could take care of the children immediately.
On our de novo review, we conclude the State proved by clear and
convincing evidence that the children could not be returned to her custody and
termination was therefore warranted under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(f).
Additionally, we agree with the district court that placement of the children in a
guardianship in lieu of termination was not a realistic option given the mother’s
ongoing drug use. As the district court stated, “The Court has no idea when [the
mother] would, if ever, be able to resume care of her children. These girls are
way too young not to have a permanent home.”
We affirm the termination of the mother’s parental rights to her four
children.
AFFIRMED.